Five Cat Superstitions and Legends From Around the World We thought we would share some of the quirkier cat superstitions and legends from around the world. **Japan** In old Japanese folklore it was said that if a cat had a black mark on its back then this was an indication that the soul of an ancestor was present and the black mark was deemed as sacred. You may have seen the common image of the Japanese Bobtail cat with its front paw raised. This was seen as a sign of good…
5 Simple Ways Dog Owners Can Help Protect Their Dogs From Bloat **Bloat** is a serious condition and can affect **any** breed of dog, it can occur following an over-intake of air, liquid or food, Bloat, or as it’s technically known, gastric dilation volvulus, occurs when a dog’s stomach overfills with gas and becomes twisted. Larger dogs with deep, narrow chests are often prime candidates to suffer but by following these 5 simple steps you can greatly reduce the chances of…
A Regret That Dog Owners May Want To Avoid Ever had a moment when somebody told you something that resonated so deeply that it changed something in you? A few years ago, as a new pet first aid instructor, I delivered a course at a rescue center and I had such a moment. After the typical introductions, it was customary to ask my attendees why they were attending and what they hoped to take from the pet first aid course. More often than not the attendees would be people that…
Vets Advise This Often Overlooked Travel Tip For Cat Owners Travelling with a pet can highlight previously unknown behaviors and seemingly small things can have a great impact. Dogs, for example, that don’t enjoy car travel may be soothed by regular rest stops with an accompanying short walk. This can be enough to placate some dogs and provide some normality and assurance to a more nervous dog. Cats on the other hand tend to be more territorial and their nature generally…
The Dog Breeds That Bark The Most...And The Least I was asked recently my opinion as to which dog breeds bark the most and gave the answer that, in my experience, smaller breeds were the most likely to bark randomly. It set me thinking that maybe my own experiences as a dog walker, trainer and behaviorist were just that...my own experiences and studies maybe showed that in the big canine picture most dogs were given to bark randomly at around the same level. My research lead…
Cat Owner? Important Information To Protect Your Privacy! Most cat owners enjoy taking pictures of their feline friends but did you know that you could be compromising your privacy by doing so? I recently came across a site that I wanted to share with you that indexes cat pictures by location provided by the geo-tagging facility on a sharer's phone. Owen Mundy, a professor at Florida State University created the site with pictures shared on social networks with the hashtag…
A Pet Version Of HAPPY BIRTHDAY Only Cats And Dogs Can Understand I recently found out that a version of Happy Birthday has been created that **'only cats and dogs can hear'**. So I decided to check it out! After research had shown that a whopping 73% of owners celebrated their pet's birthday it was perhaps inevitable that a petcentric version of the world's favorite birthday tune would become a thing. A UK business **Natures Menu** added a few squeaky toy noises, barks and…
Surprising Information About Dogs Left In Hot Cars That Every Dog Owner Should Read We felt it necessary to add some points to the **'Dogs in hot cars'** discussion that may not be as widely known as they should be. We often see many posts and memes that relate to 'breaking a car window' or 'owners shouldn't leave their dog in the car on a warm day' and whilst we agree that it is very healthy that there is a growing social awareness and inclination to share this information…
5 Quirky Things About Black Cats Black cats are often associated with good or bad luck but some **less** well-known characteristics of black cats are often overlooked Here are five things that you may not have known about black cats **Gene Factor** To be a true black cat both of the parents need to carry the black color gene.Though this sounds a fairly simple equation, what you may not know is that the dominant cat fur gene is actually tabby! Only the presence of a recessive…
5 Quirky Dog-Related Things That You Might Find Interesting One of the pleasures of researching the canine and feline world are the seemingly never ending occasions when I say to myself "Well I didn't know that!" I have compiled five lesser known pieces of canine trivia that may interest you. **The Wagometer** In 2003 a canine behaviorist by the name of Dr Roger Mugford created a device known as a **Wagometer**. Dr Mugford claimed that the small device when strapped to a…
Something To Be Aware Of If You Own An Older Cat At 7 years of age and above, most cats are still very playful and although they may appear youthful there is an increasing risk of feline age-related problems developing. Hypertension (often referred to as high blood pressure) is a medical condition that most humans have heard of. But did you know that cats over 7 years of age are at a higher risk than many other pets? In fact one in eight cats over the age of 9 are likely to…
Interesting Quirky Behaviors That Help Pets Get Adopted I recently read an interesting study that revolved around the facial expressions of dogs and cats and whether or not pets actually changed their facial expressions to gain approval from humans in a Rescue Center environment. Looking further into how cats and dogs modify their behavior to gain approval from humans, a few interesting behaviors were thrown up that indicate that our pets may be even smarter than we realized…
Study Shows Autistic Children Can Benefit From Cat Adoption Parents of autistic children are especially concerned at introducing changes into their children's lives as even small changes can affect their children's behavior. An exploratory study of cat adoption in families of children with autism highlighted some positive benefits for parents potentially considering a pet. The study was funded by the **Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI)** and the **Winn Feline…
Some Quirky Things About Left-Pawed Cat And Dogs Although not as apparent as in humans, cats and dogs are known to show a natural paw preference. Which paw the pet leads with when descending stairs can be a clue to preference. The leading paw when stepping over an object may indicate paw preference too. It may take a while to notice the paw preference of a pet and a minority show no preference at all. Studies on paw preference have been carried out and provided some…
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